The Philadelphia Eagles have an overabundance of cornerbacks on their roster after the selection of Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22 overall. Mitchell is a prime candidate to start 2024 in the slot or in place of Darius Slay and James Bradberry -- who are both in their 30s.
Slay is a certain to retain his starting spot for 2024, but he is also 33 years old. Bradberry may be the one on the outside looking in for a starting spot after arguably the worst season of his career. Bradberry could be a post-June 1 cut at age 30, or the Eagles could find a way to eat the contract one more season by moving him to another position.
Is playing safety for Bradberry an option for 2024? What about Slay after this season?
"I think when you talk about corners, O-linemen, D-linemen, you can never have enough of those guys," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said after the selection of Mitchell Thursday night. "Throughout the course of the season having guys that can cover people is so important. Obviously we've been in position over the past few years where we haven't had enough of those guys, whether that's through injury or just kind of running out of guys towards the end of the season."
The Eagles certainly have plenty of cornerbacks to choose from. In addition to Slay and Bradberry, Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks showed flashes in their rookie seasons. Isaiah Rodgers is coming off a year-long suspension, but was a good outside cornerback in Indianapolis prior to the suspension. Ringo is only 21 while Ricks is just 22. Rodgers is still only 26 years old.
The Eagles also re-signed Avonte Maddox (28) and signed Tyler Hall (25) to a one-year deal this offseason. Zech McPhearson (26) is coming off a torn Achilles, but is still in the mix as a former fourth-round pick.
There are plenty of cornerbacks on this roster, which is why the safety question was brought up regarding Slay and Bradberry. A position change may be in due time, but competition will play itself out first.
"I think that's a good problem to have," Roseman said. "That's what competition -- it shows its way through.
"We've got a lot of practice, a long time to go before we go to Brazil. It's our goal right now to add as much competition as we can to this football team and let it all shake out."
